


Green

by NeonDomino



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26431663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonDomino/pseuds/NeonDomino
Summary: Draco and Harry's friendship in the months following the war. One-shot. My first Harry/Draco.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Green

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2014

* * *

Green

That was Draco Malfoy's favourite colour.

For years he told himself that the colour was because of Slytherin. Growing up and listening to his father talking about the Slytherin house, stating that it was the only joy of that school, Draco knew that he would be in there too. He was determined to be part of that house.

To wear green.

To rule over the other Slytherin students. His father's orders of course.

But as the years went by, as he started the school and wore the green, he slowly learned that his favourite colour had changed.

It had gone from Slytherin green to bottle green.

It had gone from his house colour to his former enemies eyes.

It took a long time for him to admit it. He wouldn't want people to think that he had gone soft over Potter after all. But as the war ended and a truce came about and they moved on with their lives, Draco was haunted by those perfect green eyes, that messy black hair and that soft smile.

Why couldn't he have just handled things better back in first year? Maybe even apologised for what happened on those stairs?

If he had, maybe they would have formed a friendship. Maybe he would have had a way out for his family when he was trapped and had to either kill Dumbledore, or allow Voldemort to kill his family. Maybe the Order could have helped him had he made different choices, or even approached Harry.

His pride was in the way. He was determined that he could do it alone, but deep down he knew that faced with the man himself, he wasn't able to bring his Headmaster to his death. He knew he never would be able to, but he tried. He tried for his mother, and for his father.

He wouldn't be the reason they were dead.

They had made it though, barely, and his mother avoided Azkaban.

It was revealed that Harry was alive because of her. Harry owed her a life debt... but Draco owed Harry two. One cancelled one out, leaving one life debt from Draco to Harry.

So why was Harry sitting with him making small talk, like he had been for the past two months? What did he want? Was he looking for a way to cash in on the life debt?

Even though Draco sneered at him, belittled him, and laughed at him, there was a massive part of him that looked forward to the Friday afternoons when there would be a knock at the door, and his mother would greet Harry, and show him into where Draco was sitting, usually doing nothing.

What did Draco really have? He was now the man of the family, with Lucius' imprisonment. He was trying to redeem a disgraced name. He was a former Death Eater.

But Harry Potter was here, trying to be his friend.

Staring at him with beautiful green eyes, letting Draco make cruel remarks, insult him, and slowly begin to lose his cool and rant and rave at the dark-haired boy.

Until he finally broke down. Nothing left to say, only the truth. Only everything that he really meant, everything that Harry had waited patiently to hear.

Harry didn't seem to care that Draco was pulling up ancient history between them. His regret for their meeting on the stairs for example. The pressure he was under to be better than Harry Potter by his father. Thinking at first that the other boy was stupid and crass, just another Gryffindor, and realising he was a lot more but it was too late. They were enemies.

He whispered about the incident in the bathroom, unable to stop himself. Not even caring that he could have died. Telling Harry... not Potter, just Harry, because after everything he had said, he couldn't be Potter anymore... telling him how helpless he felt when asked if the captured boy was Harry Potter. His trying to work out a way to pretend it wasn't without them being killed anyway. Having to watch Granger screaming in pain on the floor, desperately trying to think of a way to save her, and knowing that if he made the slightest move, it meant his own parents tortures and deaths.

Finally there were no words left to say. Everything had been said, and they sat in silence instead.

"I'm sorry," Harry finally whispered. "I could have helped you, I could have tried -"

"You couldn't have. You had others to help. I shouldn't have been so proud, thinking I could keep my family safe. I could have come to you."

* * *

The months that followed, there wasn't a lot to say between him and Harry, but Harry returned every Friday. The Chosen-One filled some of the silences, explaining the school being built back up. Talking about an eighth year at school, which he had decided to return to.

"You should return," Harry told him, ignoring the shocked look that spread across Draco's face.

"I don't think I can show my face -"

"You can, and I'll help you - we'll help you, Draco. You'll have Blaise and Pansy Parkinson, and me, Ron and Hermione."

"I don't think the Weasel and -"

"And I'll talk to them. They already know I come here every week."

"You told them?"

"Why? I've nothing to hide. I wanted to help you."

Draco resisted the urge to shout about how he didn't need help from someone like Harry, but when his grey eyes met the concerned green ones, he found that he believed him. Harry had saved his life twice, and Narcissa saved Harry once. That meant Draco owed Harry a life debt, but he still couldn't understand why Harry was here, trying to help him.

"I'll consider it," Draco replied.

* * *

It was a mistake to return, and Draco knew it as he picked up the contents of his bag for the third time that week. It was a miserable life, and he was stupid to think it could go back to normal. To think that he could finish his courses and maybe salvage a half decent job from it.

It was Granger that was kneeling on the floor, pulling his stuff together, and he could barely meet her eyes after what he had failed to stop in his home. In a room that was sealed off, because he couldn't bear to return to it, and neither could his mother.

"Thank you," he forced out, as she dropped the items back into his repaired bag, and he quickly disappeared in the other direction.

The next day, he was hit by a tripping jinx. This time the hand that reached out to help him was Harry Potter's. Harry pulled him from the floor, and walked him the rest of the way to the Great Hall.

They stepped in, and eyes fell on them, and Draco turned to walk to the Slytherin table.

"I know Blaise and Pansy didn't return, so I was thinking it would be nice if you came to sit with us."

"Why?" Draco was confused.

"Because I'd like to think that these last few months, we may have gotten over everything, and we might be on our way to being friends one day."

Friends?

"I... accept your offer," Draco said, hesitantly, and both boys looked at each other, uncertain whether he meant the offer of friendship or the offer of sitting with Harry at the Gryffindor table.

It was moments after he sat down, before Hermione turned to him.

"Your cheek is red, did you hurt it?"

Before he knew what was happening, her wand was in his face, and his bruised cheek felt better.

"Thank you, again," he muttered, his gaze on his plate.

"I don't get it, Malfoy. Before if someone dared do anything like that to you, you'd hex them."

"It's how it is in Slytherin. I'm at the bottom of the hierarchy now. I have to restore my family name before people show my any respect."

"Harry shows you respect, even though you're a Malfoy," Ron pointed out. The end of that sentence, Draco could hear the slight hostility in the redhead's voice, but chose to ignore it.

"Life is life, fight for it," Hermione told him.

Draco frowned. "What?"

"That means no matter what life is like, you should keep fighting. You can make it better, just don't give up. Don't allow people to push you around, to treat you like nothing. Do you think any of us let that happen? We all know what... some wizards think of the Weasley family, but Ron fights to show that those people are wrong... and me being a Muggleborn, I fought to be the best to prove that even though I'm a Muggleborn, I can do just as well as the pure-bloods."

Draco nodded. "Life is life," he muttered.

* * *

His meals with the Gryffindors became a regular occurrence, though Ron barely spoke to him. He wasn't overly hostile but there were the occasional comment, but Draco expected that. He began to enjoy Hogwarts again, even sitting with Harry in Potions, although Slughorn had nothing on Snape, and Draco found himself missing his Godfather terribly.

But working with Harry had its advantages. Now with everything behind them, they worked well together, and slowly over the space of the school year, they found themselves hanging out even more.

The slow workings of a crush finally caught up to him by the time Christmas arrived, and he was surprised when Harry chose to stay at the castle instead of returning home. Draco stayed whilst his mother went to visit her remaining sister.

Things changed when Draco came to the Gryffindor Common Rooms. When he slept in Weasley's empty bed, with Harry in the next one, and waking, just watching the dark-haired boy sleep.

When Harry opened his eyes, they locked with Draco's in the next bed, and Harry smiled.

"I like your hair like that," he mumbled.

"Like what?"

"All dishevelled," Harry answered, closing his eyes again.

"I'd say the same, but your hair always looks the same," Draco replied, and Harry let out a quiet laugh.

"Can't tame it," he admitted. "Hermione tried, she even got Lavender in with all her hair crap and that girl could make miracles happen... but couldn't tame my hair."

"The great Harry Potter bested by messy hair," snorted Draco. "So... why did you stay?"

"Because I didn't want you to be alone," Harry replied. "I know how that feels... I thought it would be nice to spend some time alone with you."

"Planning to seduce me, Potter?" Draco smirked, and waited for a witty - or not so witty, as it was Potter after all - retort.

As the seconds rolled by, there was silence and he met Harry's nervous gaze.

"You were planning it?" Draco asked, and Harry sighed.

"I..." Harry began, looking away nervously.

"It's okay," Draco said, slipping out of Weasley's bed and into Harry's. "I was planning on seducing you too, but it's a big early, and your bed is really cold."

Draco felt a warm body press against his and smiled.

"I'll seduce you when we get up," Harry whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> [This is my tumblr...](https://neondomino.tumblr.com/)  
> 


End file.
